Local riders taking motocross by storm

Two local riders have taken the motocross championships by storm. These riders vary in talent and stages of their careers — one is beginning his career and another is turning a loss into a desire to fulfill his passion.

Kaiden “The Jett” Gaumond has been riding bikes since he was 3 years old. Now a sixth-grader at Mountain View, he has dominated the competition in his age bracket for racing. “The Jet” has a desire to win, which makes it all the more astounding when parents and racers realize he is a 12-year-old kid with the natural talent and ability to be this good at such a young age. His favorite biker is Jason Anderson.

“The Jett” races on a 85-pound bike in the 12-16 year-old division and the 105 outlaws and is a three-time champion. He originally got into motocross because his friends were doing it. He liked the jumps, and the competitiveness and the skills it takes to be successful.

“The Jett” stands 4-foot-11 and weighs 76 pounds and has the control of his bike like it was glued to him. He is a fierce competitor and would do everything he could to win. Anyone in motocross may wonder just how tough and competitive “The Jett” is. Would he take out another racer to win a race?

“I would love to see him go pro,” Wayne Gaumond, father to “The Jett” said. “He can go pro when he turns 15, which is three years away. I like seeing him be competitive and it keeps him healthy. He has to make good grades in order to continue to race — his education has to be a priority. He’s already been approached to go pro.”

“If someone was my friend,” “The Jett,” said, “I wouldn’t slide them out, but I would come into their lane. If they’re someone I don’t know, then I would come into their lane, I wouldn’t hit them, I‘d just take their line away from them.”

Wayne Gaumond feels that most of the time these kids are just kids and 10 minutes after the race, win or lose, they are all playing with each other. It seems like the older the kids get, the more competitive they are.

“The Jett” finished 14th in the Arizona Open, which is a national championship. In 2017, at the Loretta Lynn, he finished 12 out of the top 42 bikes in the region. He pulled the first place in his age group in the Moriarty MX on the stock, a second in the modified class in 65 bike and third on his 85 bikes at the 9-11 age range.

“Every day after school,” “The Jett,” said, “I’ll practice — I never get bored at it — racing and jumping.”

“The Jett” got involved in racing because his father, Wayne Gaumond used to race bikes. “The Jett” tried to play other sports but fell in love with riding because of the individuality the sport allowed. He likes being responsible for his own success.

“One of my favorite things is more air (jumping) time,” “The Jett” said. “I train in the sand because if you can ride in the sand, you can ride in anything. My least favorite thing is losing and crashing. Most people don’t know how to tap brake, which can cause me to wreck.”

One of the strengths to his racing is that the faster bike will lose “The Jett” in the straightaways because of the power, but he makes up for it with his superior jumping ability and turns. He can jump 130-foot jumps to make up what he lost in the straight.

The next thing on his agenda is a race on Jan. 4. His goal is to qualify for the Amateur National Motocross Championship. He rides a Husqvarna Motorcycle.

“The Jett” has not only dominated the age group he is in, but he is also challenging himself to try and break the Guinness Book of World Records for jumps by a 12-year-old. The record is 168 feet. This will be the first time he jumps from dirt and lands on dirt. Possibilities are the Eastern New Mexico Fairgrounds, but negotiations for the jump are underway for a summer jump.

“Kaiden,” Dilley said, “is good enough to be going pro once he is able to.”

Codi Dilley

Codi Dilley runs in an Amarillo race. Dilley would finish in second-place in the Tulie Series. (Codi Dilley Photo)

Codi Dilley has turned a hobby into a dream of racing motocross, arena-cross and outdoors riding while getting over a devastating divorce. Dilley is quick to give Wayne Gaumond respect as Gaumond would help Dilley out by putting his bike in Gaumond’s trailer to keep it safe. Gaumond would help Dilley in other ways.

“Without Wayne (Gaumond) this doesn’t happen,” Dilley said. “They have helped me so much this year. They were that good to me. Wayne and his family helped me out tremendously.”

Dilley graduated high school from Carlsbad and Eastern New Mexico University of Roswell from their respiratory program in 2009. He has made it his home since. He works for Dr. Vijay Chechani, a pulmonologist here in Roswell. Dilley is the manager at Sleep Lab Diagnostic Centers of New Mexico. Dilley’s flexible schedule allows him time to race on the weekends.

While in college, Dilley bought a Yamaha Virago 250, a bike that is a street bike he rode everywhere around town and to Hobbs and Carlsbad to work.

Dilley was feeling down after his divorce in 2014, and a couple of his friends called him and asked him if he wanted to go riding. Dilley went out on a weekend and rode his friends 250 Suzuki. He had fun washing out and the next week Dilley went out to the Roswell MX Association and joined the track. After that weekend, Dilley went down to Champion and bought his first 2014 KX. He raced that bike eight months later in Hobbs. In his first race, he got a concussion and in the main event came in second to last. Over the course of a couple of years, he would race sparingly.

Dilley made a decision to enter the Tulie race and he would get off work on Thursday night and race all weekend.

“It takes a lot,” Dilley said. “People see the riders out there and stuff like that, but without a strong support group, you’re not getting anywhere. Very rarely does anything on the track go your way and if it does, it’s not going to stay that way. So, you need people when you get off the track to pick you up and tell you it’s OK and come back because everybody gets that moment when they want to quit. I have been fortunate enough to have people who would not let me quit — that reassured me and kept me going.”

For many that are not familiar with motocross, there are different venues. Arena-cross is held in an arena, whether that be a bull riding stadium or an event center. It is where someone comes in and designs a course indoors. Each arena-cross race is unique because the race track is set up differently depending on the location and design.

“With arena-cross,” Dilley said, “get ready for other riders to be touching you and knocking you over when they come out of the gate and into the first turn. Also, when you jump, you’re side-by-side and you have to be prepared for that.”

Dilley, 30, is entering his third year of racing as an amateur. He got his start in arena-cross and he feels like it is more physically taxing on his body. The race area is more confined to more riders. Dilley felt like riding in arena-cross was very hard for him. With no experience in racing, it was a sharp learning curve as he was getting knocked over by other riders. He became frustrated, but after he raced in the outdoor series, he felt better about racing in the Kicker Arena Cross circuit. The knowledge allowed him to finish with a second-place trophy this year.

The Kicker events have been held in Hobbs, Clovis, Levelland, Texas, and Amarillo, Texas, where they held the kicker championship at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex.

While riding outdoors, the track has more room for the riders to get in and out of turns. He learned well by finishing second at Tulie MX series for the second year in a row.

Dilley has earned sponsorship from Champion Motorsports and Reinecke Medical and Chiropractic Center.

“Champion has come through for me,” Dilley said. “If I have a part go down, they are right there taking care of it for me.”

For the future, Dilley will race Carlsbad and the Kicker Tour. He would like to to do more racing and he is intrigued by doing trials, which is rock climbing with a bike.

“I love racing,” Dilley said. “I just want to have a great time. I just want to enjoy doing everything that I’m doing.”

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